“Who is responsible for this situation? We all. Francophones, Dutch -speaking, right, center, left,” decided Mr. Close, in his speech on the occasion of the Flemish community festival, at the Town Hall of Brussels. This remark raised a murmur of protest in the room.
“Are we no longer able to throw bridges, find solutions, conclude compromises?” He asked. He described this situation as “unworthy of Brussels”, which is “the link between Dutch -speaking and Francophones”.
This Friday, N-VA officials such as the Brussels leader Cieltje van Achter, or Vooruit, like the president of the Flemish Parliament Freya Van Den Bossche, strongly criticized the vet of the PS at the N-VA in the search for a new regional government. More than a year after the elections of June 9, 2024, this research remains blocked in a skein of vetos issued by various parties.
Philippe Close recalled the urgency of an agreement for all the socio-economic fabric. He keeps hope, because “if a socialist prime minister was able to reform unemployment benefits for young people in 2012 (Elio Di Rupo, editor’s note) and that a nationalist Prime Minister establishes a capital gains tax in 2025 (Bart de Wever, editor’s note), I am convinced that an agreement is possible here in Brussels also”, he smiled, applaudi for the time being.
Philippe Close: “Since I do politics, I have been told that I gentrified. And, at the same time, there are more poor. You have to know”
Little before, the president of MR Georges-Louis Bouchez had confirmed to Belga the holding of new discreet discussions between his party and the PS, with the aim of identifying “creative solutions” by the national holiday of July 21.
The bourgmestre of Brussels was also delighted with the investments of Flanders in multiple areas, and in particular in the managing company of the Brussels airport (Zaventem). Not without malice: “As a socialist, I can only delight me from the ‘nationalization’ of Brussels airport, thanks to Flemish investments,” he said, lifting laughter in the assembly. “The airport is and remains one of the main economic engines of our country – and an important employer for Brussels and the periphery. So let’s work together in the future to ensure that the two regions win.”
